Bush GSA head blasts Obama

The former head of the General Services Administration under George W. Bush on Monday accused President Barack Obama of trying to “divert attention” away from the GSA’s recent scandal by blaming his predecessor, saying, “Blaming anyone else for their own errors is an Obama administration’s stock in trade.”

“They love to blame George Bush for all of their problems,” ex-GSA Administrator Lurita Doan said on “Fox & Friends.” “The fact of the matter is that there can be no comparison whatsoever, and when you look at it, it’s one of these situations where there’s simply no way that you can excuse the kinds of excesses that went on.”

Story Continued Below

Doan was referring to the recent revelation that the GSA had spent some $835,000 on a four-day conference in Las Vegas in the fall of 2010. This excessive spending led to the resignation of the agency’s administrator, Martha Johnson. Soon after her departure, the GSA came under more scrutiny when spoof videos featuring its employees making light of the agency’s lavish spending came to light.

Doan suggested Monday that the Obama White House is not accepting full responsibility for the recent controversies.

“This is very typical of the Obama administration. There’s a lot of misdirection and cherry-picking of information that they release to the public,” she said. “I think you also see the Obama administration circling their wagons because they know this is very damaging. You simply cannot justify the kind of wasteful spending.”

She added, “The Obama administration is trying to do the best it can to divert attention.”

Doan, who had resigned as head of the GSA in 2008 after being accused of misusing her authority, took on Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) – who chaired the House Oversight Committee at the time – of constantly “blaming and attacking” Bush appointees.

“The good thing for Americans is that Congressman Darrell Issa who will be looking into these matters — he is far more interested in good government and cutting wasteful spending,” she said. “Congressman Waxman was never interested in that.”